


Lethal Weapon.

by jasminecheyanne



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Betrayal, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Death, Eventual Romance, Experimentation, F/M, Human Experimentation, Injury, Lethal Weapon Project, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Slow Burn, Thriller, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2018-09-20 01:37:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9469670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasminecheyanne/pseuds/jasminecheyanne
Summary: Subject 144. Species: Super-Human.Gender: Female.Ethnicity: Caucasian.Hair Colour: Blonde.Eye Colour: One blue, one green.Estimated Age: Twenty.Purpose: Lethal weapon.Abilities: Strength, regeneration, immunity to poison and viruses, enhanced senses, mixed-martial-arts, sniper.Created By: The American military. When a virus breaks out across the U.S., Subject 144 is the only person in her division left alive. Before her creator died, he gave 144 a name, and a mission. "Your name is Jane Doe, and your mission is to find a cure for this virus. If you can't find one...destroy all the infected. And then kill yourself - you know how." Subject 144, now known as Jane Doe, travels across Georgia in search of a cure. When she, bleeding but otherwise fine, comes across a group of people, a young Asian man convinces her to stay the night to get patched up, eat something, and rest. Fascinated by the group of people that somehow managed to survive, Jane Doe accepts the offer. Perhaps they can help her find the cure she was looking for. If they have to die for that cause, then so be it. She doesn't care what she has to do to complete the mission, even if that means killing innocent people.





	1. 00. And Then There Was One.

_Two-hundred candidates varying of age, gender and ethnicity: The American military hoped to create an army of biologically enhanced individuals to eliminate enemies larger than themselves. The doctors involved had no preference on who the subjects were or where they came from--they only chose those of superb health. If one potential candidate becomes sick, they will not be able to survive the re-birthing process, and that just won't do._

_The experiments began in April of 2009 and by January of 2010, they were supposedly perfected. But only two candidates survived. Subjects One-Hundred-Forty-Four and One-Hundred-Sixty-Eight. The other one-hundred-ninety-eight subjects all died during the Lethal Weapon project--and proceeded to come back to life._

_The Centre of Disease Control of Atlanta, Georgia managed to keep the virus under control for nine months until subject One-Hundred-Sixty-Eight became ill while on a mission in Western America. John Doe--subject One-Six-Eight--died the same night the illness appeared and within twenty-four hours, reanimated brandishing cannibalistic tendencies, a lack of empathy, and failure to understand simple terms and orders. Precisely like the other one-ninety-eight failed candidates._

_John Doe managed to pass the virus along to many soldiers before being put down. One bullet to the brain. Not to the heart, lungs or other major artery's. Only a wound to the brain took down the infected. The CDC frantically tried to keep the virus contained, but it was too late. It had already spread._

_The president of the United States insisted on eliminating subject One-Forty-Four immediately, but after extensive tests--blood samples taken, countless MRI scans, and finally, the injection of the strange virus itself--it was clear that, somehow, candidate One-Hundred-Forty-Four seemed to be immune to whatever disease had come out of the failed Lethal Weapon test subjects._

_Even still, they were hesitant to let her out into the world to eliminate threats, but near the end of October 2010, as the virus broke out country-wide, they couldn't afford_ not _to._


	2. 01. Thursday, November 25th, 2010.

Lights flickered dimly above her head as she leaned over the microscope, her sharp green eye studying the tissue sample while her blue eye was slid shut. Over the humming of the lights, Jane Doe could detect the groans and moans of the infected locked in a cage at her back. Neither the thrumming energy from the ceiling nor the hungry groaning from the infected succeeded in distracting her from her mission. Jane Doe was trained not to allow anything to distract her unless immensely bothersome.

To her left on the long examination table sat other tissue samples from the infected in a small refrigerator; labels below each reading in immaculate order, the date in which Jane Doe procured them. To her right on a metal stool sat Jane's newfound acquaintance, Robin Howard. Vibrant red hair tumbled from Robin's scalp in small, tight curls, light brown freckles dusting across her skin from head-to-toe. Her eyes a deep amber, dark against her pale skin, although not as dark as the bite on her left shoulder. Robin was approximately infected six hours prior.

-*-*-

_Jane Doe had been travelling across Georgia in search of test subjects whom would help her determine the elements of a cure. Those who hadn't met up with her standards, she had simply walked away from, dodging their reaching arms with ease. Jane kept walking and side-stepping until the infected became distracted by something else._

_While she was passing through the woods - a shortcut back to her warehouse -, she heard the sounds of a woman crying. Curiosity piqued, Jane followed the sounds until she came across a red-headed woman leaning against a tree with her hand covering a bleeding wound on her shoulder. An infected man lie face down on the forest floor with a knife protruding from his head._

_With a light frown upon her face, Jane look away from the man who could've been saved had she just gotten there sooner, her eyes lifted to the infected woman. Feeling appraising eyes on her, the redhead lifted her head from where it had been buried into her knees, and jumped at the sight of Jane standing before her. There was an unnerving blankness in the blonde's miss-matched eyes in the likes Robin had never seen before._

_"W-Who are you?" Stammered Robin, her free hand clutching a bag protectively to her side. "What do you want?"_

_Jane tilted her head as she studied the girl, eyes narrowing only slightly. Robin twitched underneath her gaze, feeling as if the blonde were staring into her very soul. Before the redhead could ask her questions again, Jane spoke._

_"My name is Jane Doe, and I want you to come with me."_

_Blinking in surprise, Robin gaped up at the blonde woman now known as_ Jane Doe. _Robin couldn't help but think,_ Isn't that a name for an unidentified woman? _Jane crouched down to Robin's level and held out a hand in silent offering, her expression never changing from its lack of emotion._

_Suffice to say, Robin was baffled. "Uh, why, exactly? I mean, not to say you're unintelligent or anything, but it's not like I'm gonna be alive much longer. I don't know how much help I'd be in the meantime." As though her confusion dulled her pain and her fear of dying, Robin's voice was steady and calm as she spoke._

_A smile twitched at Jane Doe's lips, though she wasn't truly as amused as the smile entailed. "I was trained for this very purpose, miss. The Lethal Weapon program instilled within me how to create cures for viruses such as the one coursing through your veins, as well as many others'. I believe that, with your help, I'll be closer to finding a cure for you and every other infected roaming the country."_

_Ten heartbeats passed as the redhead absorbed Jane's speech._

_A smirk slowly made its way across Robin's face. "Did you practice that in the mirror first, or was it off the top of your head?" The sarcasm flew right over Jane's head and she furrowed her eyebrows - in what would look like confusion but felt like nothing -, wondering how that could possibly matter. "Why in the world would I need to practice saying that in a mirror? I'm programmed not to feel nervous. I do not understand the relevance."_

_As Robin burst into slightly hysterical laughter, Jane blinked once and tilted her head, studying the functions of this girl and committing the reaction to memory in case she would need it in the future. Her handler and creator, David Spencer, taught her how to mimic the emotions of others to seem more understanding and trustworthy, though she felt nothing but indifference._

_Robin slowly managed to stifle her giggles as she shook her head in disbelief at Jane's peculiar behaviour. She was far too gone to truly question it. "I was being sarcastic, Jane. It was a joke." Robin informed the blonde, who tilted her head to the other side, eyebrows raised in intrigue._

_"If you come with me, you must show me the ways of the sarcasm and the joking." Jane decided, nodding her head. Again Robin laughed before placing her bloody hand into Jane's, allowing the blonde woman to pull her to her feet._

_Adjusting her bag over her uninjured shoulder, Robin fell into step next to Jane as she continued forward. "I'll try my best." Robin replied, chortling._

_Jane Doe nodded her head seriously. "Trying one's best is all one can ask for."_

-*-*-

Stepping back from the microscope, Jane picked up a small recording device and clicked the button with a red circle. "Today marks exactly one month since the unofficial outbreak of the virus, and twenty-five days since the outbreak became official. Today is Thursday, November 25th, 2010." With only a glimmer of disappointment in her miss-matched irises, Jane shot a glance at the sample atop a glass slide. "Sample number 32 shows no signs of successfully curing the infected on its own, though it does show some fascinating data that could potentially aid me in my studies furthermore."

Ever since David Spencer gave her her mission, Jane Doe had begun gathering one infected after the other. People whom had just transitioned into mindless, cannibalistic creatures the same day she approached them. It is not as though Jane does not help those about to become infected, she simply just does not make it in time to aid them. Although she admits to herself that them transforming in turn puts her _that much closer_ to finding a cure. She doesn't intend for them to be that way for long, but also doesn't quite mind when they are.

Jane Doe had been quick to abandon the building in which she was created and found somewhere she could set up her laboratory. Jane had been trained to create something out of nothing, just as she had been, and create she did. During her travels, she obtained a generator to give power to her lab equipment she had taken from the Lethal Weapon district and had begun setting up the warehouse which she deemed fitting to her needs.

She had also acquired blackout curtains to hang over the windows so as to not draw any unwanted attention that would interrupt her work. Jane's new acquaintance, Robin, had helped as much as she could in her weakened state before Jane urged her to sit down. After all, she needed Robin to transition naturally, rather than transition as a result from her tiring herself out far too early. Jane required organisation in order to concentrate to her full capacity.

Jane's eyes fell upon Robin just as she the red-head turned to look at her. "My new acquaintance Robin Howard, aged nineteen, has yet to fully transition, though she is showing signs of fever: Glassy eyes, flushed skin that is hot to the touch. She is perspiring but informs me she is cold. Robin tends to shiver and layer on clothing and blankets to keep warm." Robin frowned, visibly uncomfortable at how blunt Jane was being, but the blonde woman did not care. Robin was terrified of dying, while Jane was awaiting the woman's death with baited breath.

"I estimate Robin will have fully transitioned in approximately the next twenty-four hours. I will record my findings when the time comes." Jane completed and took her finger from the record button before setting the small device onto the metal surface of the examination table. Jane slides the 32nd sample from underneath the microscope and places it in its designated slot in the refrigerator.

Feeling eyes on her, Jane Doe faced Robin Howard with an eyebrow raised in query. Under Jane's intimidating stare, Robin's hackles went up in defence. "You know, I may have agreed to be one of your experiments, but only so you can turn me back when you find a cure. I don't appreciate the way you speak about me as if I wasn't here."

Unknowingly, Jane tilted her head as she studied Robin's body language. Blindly she reached out for her recorder and pressed down on the button. "Robin Howard seems to be showing signs of irritation and seems to be offended. I will have to study her reaction further to know for certain it is connected to the infection." At this, Robin rolled her eyes and pushed herself from her stool. With a scoff, the redhead turned on her heel and walked away from the lab.

Jane's eyes stayed trained on her retreating back as she spoke into the recorder. "As it stands right now, at-" The blonde lifted her left arm to read the watch upon her wrist. "-0730 in the evening, I have yet to find a cure for this virus. Though as it is my life mission, I am determined and optimistic that I will find it eventually. This is Jane Doe, formally known as Subject 144, signing off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glenn and the others should be coming in chapter three. I know, so far away! I'm sorry, but it'll be worth it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any thoughts, predictions or questions, leave them in the comments! Until next time. <3


	3. 02. Friday, November 26th, 2010.

Twenty-four-hours later, Jane Doe finds Robin Howard, her transformation complete. Before the red-headed woman had gone to sleep in another caged-in portion of the warehouse, she'd had enough forethought to lock herself in. 

Jane stood a couple feet away from her cage, arms folded across her chest as the infected young adult pressed herself against the metal bars and tried to reach the blonde before her. The miss-matched irises were just as blank as the owners expression. Jane Doe lifts her recorder to her mouth and hits the button.

"My estimation was correct. Robin Howard transitioned fully twenty-four-hours since my last entry. Twenty-four-hours prior, she had colour to her skin from the fever. Now, her complexion is rather grey, not unlike that of a corpse." Jane shifted to lean on her other leg, head tilting to the side absently as she continued to observe her acquaintances behaviour.

"Albeit, I do not believe her to be dead. Robin Howard is merely in some sort of stasis. The virus has overtaken her human reactions, though I have reason to believe that they are not fully gone. All I must do is discover a way to banish the more animalistic tendencies, to make room for the humanity once again. I will take a sample from Miss Howard right away."

Jane's slim finger released the recording button and she was quick to slide the small device into the front pocket of her lab coat. The _Lethal Weapon_ survivor stepped toward the civilians cage and took hold of her lower arms, tugging and twisting harshly to dislocate them so the infected could no longer reach her, though try she did.

While it is true Jane Doe is immune to the virus, she found it rather irritating, having to clean the scratches the infected gave her on a daily basis. It was a simple task to put the bones back into place. If the subjects were offended, it did not matter to the woman. They would no longer be cannibals. It would be irrational to be angry over such a small thing as dislocated limbs.

Her hands wrapped in gloves simply for sanitary reasons, Jane reached through the bars. With one hand, she gripped Robin's forehead to avoid getting bitten - again, bites were rather bothersome to clean - while her other held a scalpel to cut off a tissue sample. Robin Howard growled almost in protest as she struggled against the stronger woman's hold, her jaws snapping, saliva dripping onto her clothing.

Jane slid her hands back out through the bars and reached into another pocket on her lab coat for a glass container, promptly placing the sample delicately inside. Looking down at the new sample, Jane took out her recorder. "I suppose I should be saddened that my acquaintance has turned...but in the pursuit of finding a cure and possibly pushing science into a whole new realm of success, I can not find it within me to be disheartened." With that said, she turned quick and smoothly on her heel and strode toward her equipment, ignoring Robin's growled protests behind her.

The blonde spent mere minutes studying the new sample before satisfaction blossomed in her gut. Jane scrambled for her recorder and brought it to her lips. "The results from sample 33 are most promising! While sample 32 was weak and rather... _empty_ , I suppose one could say, sample number 33 is strong and full of variables I am optimistic I could form into a vaccine. Although I won't know how well it will work until I test it on a volunteer." A smile spread upon Jane's face as the excitement grew. Will she perhaps finish her mission _this quickly?_  

"I promise to record anything of importance once it happens. This is Jane Doe, Subject 144, signing off."

-*-*-

One hour later, Jane Doe has finished her first attempt at the cure for the infected spreading across the world. The liquid in the vile was of a rather yellow shade that Jane found similar to a human's urine if they did not eat healthily for their body. Unappealing yes, but hopefully effective in what its purpose was.

While training in the _Lethal Weapon_ district, the candidates, Jane included, trained not only in the way of mixed-martial arts and marksmanship, but in engineering and the sciences as well. They needn't only be strong physically, but mentally as well. Everyone was trained to be both the brains and the brawn. 

Jane, of course having been the last candidate standing, excelled in nearly every category - the sciences especially, as well as marksmanship. She will admit that she struggled with mirroring one's emotions and facial expressions, but she was not _terrible_ either.

Jane Doe took hold of the vaccine and placed it inside of another refrigerator before picking up the recorder and relaying her possible success.

"Today, Friday, November 26th of 2010 has truly been one step closer to success for the human race, as you could tell from my equations mere moments before. I have put the vaccine in a safe place until I find a volunteer willing to take it. For now though, I must venture out into the city for nourishment. Food." As Jane spoke, she stripped from her lab coat and strode toward her table holding her collection of weapons and ammunition. 

"As you know, journal, I am not like normal human beings who need at most, eight hours of sleep. I, on the other hand, as Dr. Spencer made sure of, that if eat regularly - as in; breakfast, lunch and dinner - I will not need very much sleep to keep me coherent and working to my highest capacity. If I eat properly, I may not need any rest at all." The blonde woman strapped her spear over her back, the straight blade closer to the ground than her head. Jane could not count how many time she had nearly cut off her ear or inches of her hair when first learning to wield the weapon by having the blade near her head instead of the ground. Yes, she was not always bright. 

"Science and time wait for naught. It is imperative I work until I can work no more. I will create this cure even if it kills me." Jane pulled on a rucksack over her spear, making sure the weapon was still easily accessible with the pack upon her back. "This is Jane Doe, signing off."

-*-*-

Jane Doe's gaze darted away from a box of Ritz crackers in her hands, having been wondering if they were a good source of fibre, and toward the sound of gunshots echoing throughout the barren town Jane was scavenging in. Discarding the box of circular shaped food, Jane reached behind herself and gripped the wooden staff of her spear and settled into a crouch.

Peering through the dirty window of the small grocery store, her miss-matched irises, trained to see through the dark (though not exactly night-vision), searched her surroundings for the owner of the gun. 

The blonde waited with baited breath for more shots, and her fingers tightened around the staff of her weapon as more gunfire came. The woman relaxed as she found they were far away from her position, and she released the spear. The only question that remained was...should she investigate? Perhaps befriend whoever it was?

Jane went through the pros and cons methodically in her mind. If she were to go to them, perhaps they would be willing to let an infected bite them, and then allow her to inject the serum into their bloodstream. Or, maybe they were scientists themselves and would be able to aid her in her research. 

Perhaps they weren't good people. Perhaps they didn't believe. Perhaps their first instinct upon seeing her would be negative. What if they had no interest in prolonging human life? What if they have already given up? What if they weren't scientists, what if they weren't willing? What if, what if, what if.

Jane shook her head. _I will not go. If there is even the slightest possibility that they will try to stop me and my mission, I cannot risk it. I will not._

 _Besides, if someone was stupid enough to fire a shot in the heart of the city, they deserved whatever would come to them._ Jane found herself smirking. "Perhaps I'll capture them as one of the infected roaming around and use them for my research."

Jane Doe returned to her search for food, gathering enough to last a week if she spread her meals out correctly, before exiting the small grocery store and making her way back to her warehouse for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some action coming next chapter! And I know I said Glenn and the others would be coming in chapter three, but it might be extended to the fourth chapter, depending on how I feel I should write the third and how long I feel I should make it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless, and I hope you stick around for Glenn to come! It's okay if you don't :) Please comment any thoughts/predictions you have! <3 Until next time.
> 
> P.S. I'm gonna be getting a tattoo dedicated to Glenn at some point, and if you guys want, I'll show you when I have it!


	4. 03. Always Forward.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THERE WILL BE ATTEMPTED RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER. BUT IT GOES NO FARTHER THAN REACHING FOR HER. THERE IS ONLY PHYSICAL VIOLENCE AFTER THE FACT.

"The date is Monday, November 29th, 2010 and I have yet to find someone to inject the potential cure into." Jane Doe paced around her lab, her only company the infected watching her from between the bars of their cage, Robin Howard among them. Anyone else would find their vacant gaze disturbing, but Jane was not bothered in the slightest.

"It has come to my realisation that there is nothing left here to continue my research. It's time to travel further into the city. I must gather more samples in case this serum fails to do its intended purpose, and the likelihood of it failing is high. Unfortunate, yes, but is to be expected for a first attempt. Rarely do scientists find a cure right away." Jane Doe picked up the vile holding the possible cure, turning it this way and that for the light to reflect off of the yellow liquid.

"The probability of finding other scientists with the expertise to assist me in finding a cure is also high. I am confident that at least one human being is still alive in the Centre of Disease Control. I have done all I can here; it is time to move on. As my handler has always said, _"You must move forward, 144. Always forward. Forward, always."_ , I do not intend to let him down. This is Jane Doe, signing off."

Jane slides her recorder into a hidden pocket in her jacket and turns toward the caged infected. Their groans of hunger increase in volume as she steps closer, halting just out of arms reach. She tilts her head to the side as she studies them, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion at the odd sensation in her gut; something akin to regret.

"This is where I leave you, my subjects. You have done well in keeping me company in these trying times." A frown crosses her face as she brings her hand to her stomach, looking down upon the flat expanse. _Why do I feel this way?_ Shaking the nonsense from her mind, she drops her hand to her side. "As soon as I know this cure works, I will come back for you all. I will bring you back to yourselves. I promise you that." With that, the blonde woman turns her back to the infected and begins the motions of packing up her lives work to begin her travels, trying to ignore the bitter taste in her mouth.

* *

The sun is high in the sky as Jane Doe walks in the center of the abandoned road. Sweat built on her forehead and the back of her neck from the heat its rays brought her, but she paid no mind to it. Her handler trained her to be unmovable when in the heat and the cold. She has stood upon hot coals, she has walked amongst flames, she has been burned from head to toe and she has healed each time. She has hiked through the snowy wilderness barefoot, she has been frozen half-to-death, she has been buried from a landslide and she has healed each time. No climate could bring her down. No natural occurrence could make her flinch. Nothing could break her resolve.

Jane Doe halts in her quick-paced steps, her neck craning up to the sky as an explosion shook the earth underneath her feet. Her nostrils flare as she breaths in the scent of fire, her mouth opening and tongue tasting the oxygen setting ablaze. Over the horizon she can see smoke black as pitch billowing high.

The woman with miss-matched irises reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a map. Methodically she rolls it open and gazes upon the red ink encircling the location of the CDC. A sigh escapes her, strands of her blonde hair moving upward with the motion as she searched her mind for the correct human reaction, "Son of a bitch." With haste, Jane shoves the map back into her pocket, grips the straps of her large backpack, and pushes her legs into a run.

* *

Fifteen minutes later, Jane Doe finds herself standing before the wall of flames that had once been the Centre of Disease Control. Her chest was heaving, her lungs expanding, desperate for a steady breathing pattern. Remnants of the tall glass and metal building lay around, spread out in a radius of half a mile.

Her feet carried her closer to the fallen building, her pale skin reddening from the heat of the flames. Her eyes stung from her close proximity as she looked around, searching for any sign of life. Tilting her head to the side, she found tyre marks across the street, mere moments old. _There had been four vehicles here._  

Jane's eyes then fell upon sacks of sand the American military had placed in an act of cover, and found indications of human life adjacent from the tyre tracks. _Two sets of footprints. One man, one woman, judging from the size difference, though I suppose the smaller pair could have been a child. Perhaps scientists escaping from the explosion? Had civilians set up the explosion? Why, though? Why would someone destroy one of the only hopes left for humanity?_

Frowning, Jane Doe pulls out her recording device and clicks record, her voice raised a few octaves to be heard over the roaring flames. "The CDC is lost, but perhaps not the doctors that had been inside. If I can find the trail of those who escaped, I can either inject the serum into one of them, whether they volunteer for it or not, or find a scientist and we can work together to perfect this cure should it need it. I will record my findings once they show themselves to me."

She had been so lost in her thoughts of all of the possibilities that the sound of an infected approaching was lost on her until rotting teeth sunk into the flesh of her right shoulder, close to the juncture of where her neck sloped into her shoulder.

Jane's breath hissed through her teeth in pain as the virus hit her bloodstream before dying out mere seconds of it meeting her cells. Her instincts took over as her teeth ground together, bearing in her frustration. She had allowed her training in human behaviour cloud her superior senses and judgement. Jane kicked out behind her, her foot connecting solidly with the infected's shin, sending them to the ground.

Quickly she whirled around, and kicked twice in fast succession at the infected's arms as he reached upward. A loud crack sounded as the force of her strength broke one of his wrists, causing the limb to fall limp at his side. He just kept on coming, completely numb and unaware of the pain. The infected were driven by hunger for flesh and blood, nothing else. With a quiet grunt, Jane Doe sends her foot into the infected's head, dazing him enough for her to distance herself.

Breathing heavily, she stepped away from the infected and gazed at her surroundings. More infected were coming, of all genders and ages, all attracted to the light of the fire and the roaring sounds the flames were making. But most of all, the scent of her blood in the air.

Jane slid the recorder into her hidden pocket gently as she edged around the men, women and children, before turning on her heel and running, following the tyre marks. She could feel her blood oozing from her bite wound, but she couldn't clean it out until there was a sizeable distance between her and the infected. Anger burned inside of her, toward herself. She had been _foolish_. Mr. Spencer would be so disappointed in her.

* *

Jane Doe found herself sitting on a curb only in her bra, jeans and boots, revealing her many scars from bites, burns, knife wounds and bullet holes; the marks only slightly lighter than her fair skin tone. A first-aid kit lay on the sidewalk beside her as she poured water over her fresh wound. Without even needing to think about it, she switched out the water for antiseptic. She bit into a clean patch of fabric of her discarded shirt to ensure she kept quiet as the disinfectant thoroughly cleansed the bite. Her hands remained steady as she smoothed a bandage over the wound. Reaching into her pack, she took out a clean t-shirt and shrugged it on, her jacket following before she threw her old shirt to the side.

She pulled out her recorder. "I refuse to be so foolish again. It does not matter that the virus doesn't effect me the way it does humans. I will _not_ allow myself cause for distraction again." As she spoke, she packed away the first-aid kit and stood, slinging her pack over her uninjured shoulder. "I will find somewhere to stay while I heal."

Her expression grim, she continued forward, following the trail she had found made by the escapees. Jane Doe remained vigilant from there on out, as she should always have been. _I must make it up to Mr. Spencer, though he may be infected and not himself. Once I perfect this cure, I will find a way to appease him. If I can't, I will happily accept the beating, as I will deserve it should I fail._

She walked down the street in silence for a few moments, before the sound of laughter broke the calm environment. Jane's attention was immediately caught by three men exiting a house and listened in on their conversation. "That dead bitch almost got me! Fucking hell, I can't believe that just happened." A man with light brown hair exclaimed, his voice echoing through the empty street.

Jane's shoulders tensed as she prepared for an onslaught of infected, but none came. _Yet_. Straining her hearing, she could hear limbs slamming against the wood of a door. _That must be the "dead bitch" he was talking about._  

A man with darker brown hair laughed along with him while the third man, blonde hair so light it was nearly white, simply smirked in amusement and said, "Did you see me break her arms? She just kept on coming, her arms swingin' around like the inflatable arm flailing tube man, the dumb bitch. How much do ya wanna bet she was just as stupid when she was alive?"

The man with dark brown hair met Jane's miss-matched eyes from across the street and held out his arms to stop his two friends in their tracks. To make sure they knew she was alive, she raised an arm and waved hello, sending the three men a closed-lipped smile.

The two brunettes and the blonde - all of Caucasian descent - shared an indiscreet look as they tried to hide the smirks growing on their faces. Despite their obvious interest in her body, Jane crossed the street and approached them as they stepped off the porch. "Hello." She greeted.

"Well hey there, sweet thing. What're you doin' out here alone?" The man with light brown hair asked. _Is he trying to seduce me?_ Jane wondered, eyebrows raising in dull amusement. Jane stopped just before the curb, looking up at the men as they stood on the slightly-raised lawn that belonged to the house behind them.

Jane shrugged her shoulders. "Just looking for a place to stay. Do you have a camp somewhere around here?" She tilted her head to the side curiously, looking cute without meaning to, giving them the same closed-lip smile. 

The blonde spoke up with a smirk that screamed what humans would call "try-hard", "I'm Jack. This here is Connor," He gestured to the man with light brown hair and then the man with dark hair, "And this is Matt. We've got everything you need, beautiful. Just say the word and you can have it."

Before any of them could try any harder (or should she say, fail any harder) to make her swoon, Jane smiled. "I think you guys'll be interested in what I've got far more than what you can give me." All three eyebrows shot up in interest as they grinned. _No, you simple men. That was not an innuendo,_ Jane sighed quietly to herself.

"Oh yeah?" Matt said just as Jack asked, "And what's that, sweetheart?"

Jane nodded her head back toward her backpack. "A possible cure for the virus." Jack, Matt and Connor were stunned into silence as they gaped down at her. Jane couldn't tell if they were interested, or if they were just realising how insane she was.

Connor ran a hand through his white-blonde hair. "Damn, you're crazy. Good thing you're hot." Jane internally rolled her eyes. "The American military created me to wipe out natural and unnatural disasters. The program was called _Lethal Weapon._ In my backpack I have a possible cure for people such as the "dumb bitch" you locked inside that house." Jane pointed toward the two-story house at their backs.

"I believe that, with your strength combined with my knowledge of the human body, we can cure every single infected roaming the country."

The three men stared down at her in baffled silence, before bursting into laughter. Matt wiped a tear from his eye as he caught his breath, "No thanks. I think I speak for all of us when I say we don't wanna catch whatever crazy you got goin' on up in there." He pointed to his head. "What we do want is your supplies, though, and we may as well have some fun with a dime-piece like you while we're at it." Jack, Connor and Matt began to descend upon her.

Jane stood her ground as they approached. "I understand why you think I'm unwell. Just give me a chance to show you the reality of my words. We have conquered the world again and again after each war that has been fought, and I have reason to believe we can conquer it again." Matt was standing in front of her while Jack and Connor stood to her left and right.

"That's a real nice speech, darlin', but we have no interest in being delusional like you." Jack said, his eyes alight with mirth and desire. "Now be a good girl and give us your stuff...and you're _stuff."_ He lunged for her and she swung her fist into his noise. A satisfying _crack_ met her ears, pleasing her as music would.

Jack cupped his hand over his nose, blood pouring through the cracks of his fingers and onto his white shirt, staining the collar red. "Yuh fuggin' bish! Sh broge muh nose!" His voice came out garbled as blood ran into his mouth.

Jane's head snapped to her left at the slightest movement, and blocked Matt's fist with her forearm, using her strength to fling him backward. Matt stumbled in shock before falling to the ground. From the sleeve of her jacket, a knife slid out and into Jane's right hand. She spun on her heel as Connor approached her, ready to wrap his arms around her from behind, and sank the knife into his chest; the blade slid into his heart right to the hilt, killing him instantly. Jane Doe pressed her left hand to his shoulder and pushed him off of her knife, the silver now stained and dripping red.

Jack let out an enraged shout as he came at her again, his nose still bleeding. Jane ducked away from his reaching arms and spun to face his back. She kicked the back of his knee, sending him heavily to the ground. Before he could recover and strike again, she gripped his blonde mop of hair and tugged his head backward, bearing his throat to her. Without hesitation, she slit his throat from ear to ear and shoves him to the ground, leaving him to bleed out, painting the sidewalk crimson.

The moment she turned on Matt, he yelped and scrambled back on his hands and feet away from her. "You guys should really treat women better." Jane said, shaking her head, so nonchalant as if she were talking about losing a penny. She looked at the two dead men slumped against the road. "Well, it's just you now, isn't it? _You_ , Matt. _You_ need to treat women better." A light bulb lit up in her mind. _The infected woman is still in that house, alive,_ she thought as Matt began blubbering apologies that fell upon deaf ears.

She tilted her head to the side as she looked down upon Matt. "Perhaps in your new life, you'll know how to behave." Before he could say another word, she kicks him in the head, knocking him out cold.

Jane slung her backpack from her shoulder and pulled it open. She rifled through its contents before coming across a small container. Holding her breath, she flipped open the latches and slowly pushed back the lid. Inside, nestled in protective foam was the glass vile of the potential cure for the virus and a needle it would be distributed in, completely intact. Breathing out in relief, she gently placed it back into her bag and strapped the pack over her shoulders once again.

Jane picked up her discarded knife and wiped it off on her pant leg, slid it back into the holster of her jacket sleeve, before bending down and gripping Matt's arm. It was then she noticed that her own hand covered in Jack's blood, a result from slitting his throat. Once she had a secure grasp, she began dragging him up the porch steps and into the house.

At the smell of flesh blood, the infected began groaning and moaning, and slamming her broken arms against whatever door she was locked behind. Jane headed toward the noise, paying no mind to Matt bumping roughly into table legs and the corners of walls as she strode farther into the house. Bumps, bruises and cuts didn't matter in her research. Only bites of the infected and her urine-coloured cure.

Jane stopped in front of the door where the growls were loudest. She tucked her hands under Matt's armpits and hauled him to his feet, holding him with one arm wrapped around his stomach while the other reached for the doorknob. As soon as it was open, the infected lunged toward Jane and the unconscious man, sinking her teeth into Matt's chest.

Said man's eyes flew open and he let out a bellowing scream of pain and instinctively pushed the infected away from him. Satisfied that the virus was now coursing through his veins, Jane reached around from behind him to pull the door closed once again. Immediately the infected began hitting the door, growling and biting at the wood, desperate to open it so she could taste Matt's flesh again. _Sorry miss, one bite was all I needed from you._

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Matt's voice was hysterical and loud as he pressed his hand over his gaping wound. Jane found herself rolling her eyes in irritation toward Matt, "Stop freaking out, you might be fine in twenty-four hours." Though she was annoyed at his incessant shouting, her voice came out even and devoid of emotion.

The dark-haired man whirled around to face her, his eyes wide and panicked. _"Might?!_ What the hell are you talking about, you crazy fuck?" Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke, and he began backing away from her, further into the house. Jane merely shrugged her shoulders as she followed him. "I told you I had a potential cure for this virus, and now I get to test it."

Matt backed up into a wall and the sudden intrusion made him lash out, his bloody hand knocking over a vase. "There's no way I'm gonna be your lab rat, you psychopath!" All the ruckus sent the infected woman behind the door crazy as her sounds kept getting louder and louder.

Jane grit her teeth in annoyance and lunged for Matt as he picked up a shard of the broken vase. He let out a surprised squeak at how quick she was, as Jane gripped him by the forehead and slammed the back of his head into the wall with just the right amount of strength to make him drop his makeshift weapon and lose consciousness a second time. 

_I wonder if I gave him a concussion this time._

Matt fell limp into her arms and with a grunt, Jane eased him to the floor, slumping him against the wall. Ungrateful, Jane thought as she reached into her backpack for the cure. _If the cure works, perhaps Mr. Spencer will allow me to take care of him. That, or put him in jail where he will rot for the rest of his life. Both options suit me just fine._

As she opened the protective container that held the cure, Jane paused before putting the cure into the needle. _Why am I reacting to what he and his foolish friends tried to do? I eliminated two threats and am using the last to continue my research. And yet..._

_And yet there is this sickened feeling in my gut and my hands are clammy although they are steady as they always are. With Jack and Connor dead, and Matt unconscious before me, my throat feels as if it is closing up, and my eyes are burning._

_Is this what it is to be afraid?_

Jane bit the inside of her cheek, the physical pain clearing her mind of her inner turmoil, and she was quick to place the cure into the needle. With no more irrelevant thought, Jane slid the thin needle into Matt's carotid artery and pushed the liquid into his bloodstream.

Her movements nearly robotic, Jane threw away the needle and tucked the vile into its container before slipping them into her backpack. She then bent her knees and grabbed hold of Matt's arm and lifted him over her shoulder like, as the human's say, a sack of potatoes.

Glancing out a window, Jane frowned. _The sun is going down. I need to find somewhere to stay. Not here. It can't be here. All of the ruckus will have brought more infected our way, and I haven't the patience to deal with them. Somewhere else. I need to find somewhere else to stay._

As she left, she said her farewell to the infected woman locked away. As she left, she spoke her vows to come back for her, just as she did with her cage of infected's. She promised to come back and cure her, that she would cure all of them.

It was her mission. She will complete it even if it kills her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was fun to write :) Also, Glenn WILL be coming in the next chapter! I have a lot planned for this story, so I hope you stick with me for the ride! If you wanna get off that's cool, I still love ya! Until next time.
> 
> P.S. Why yes, I did take the "Always forward. Forward, always." quote from Marvel's Luke Cage.


	5. 04. The Cure.

Chains rattled in the wind and scraped against the ground as Jane Doe walked forward, Matt dragging along behind her on the cement, sweat from his fever leaving smears on the concrete in his wake, the sturdy chain wrapped around his chest. The sky was purple and blue, though she could tell the pink and orange was not far behind in showing off its sunrise. 

Nowhere she stayed seemed suitable enough to her needs, and so she had been walking for eight hours now, longer than she had hoped to still be on the road, dodging the infected and ducking out of sight from the humans when necessary. The homes and small convenience stores - not at all convenient, in the end - she came across were nearly entirely destroyed from the humans as a result of their frightened looting. At this point, although she knew it to be illogical and irrational, she would settle for a ditch in the side of the road if it meant she could rest and examine her test subject for even a moment.

Jane idly thought to herself that she hoped Jack and Connor were having fun roaming around as mindless cannibals, Although, she supposed that wouldn't be too far off from what they already were. She wondered if they had always been such unkind men, or if the new world had made them so.

Sighing softly to herself, she stops in the middle of the road, the remaining moonlight shining down upon them like a spotlight in a child's school play. For extra lighting, she pulls a flash light from a side pocket on her backpack and shines it down upon him. Her fair hand reached out to touch his even paler forehead to feel for his temperature.

Reaching into her pocket, she effortlessly found the "record" button on her tape. "104*. Shouldn't be too long now," Jane filled in as she peeled back the man's eyelids and shined her light to check for pupil dilation. "His pupils reacted only slightly from my light. I'm not sure the cure has been effective, but I will not know for certain until he wakes - infected or cured."

Standing up straight, she looks up to the lightening sky, and flicks off her flash light. "Knocking him unconscious has slowed the transformation, though not by very much." She bites her bottom lip as she tucks the light back into the pocket it came from. "Who knows," Her lips tilt up into a smirk, "Maybe knocking him out will aid in his recovery. I cannot lie, I would find much satisfaction in putting my subjects into unconsciousness." Reaching for her tape, she pauses the recording.

Looking down at her subject, she picks up the chains, turns, and continues to walk toward the sunrise. In the distance, acres of farmland lay ahead.

* *

"Rick, I need t'talk to you." Former policeman Rick Grimes sat in a chair at the bedside of his injured son, his blue eyes locked on the white bandage wrapped around his small rib cage, a bullet-sized hole long-since stitched up covered from the air. His former partner, Shane Walsh, stood in the doorway, his brown eyes also immovable as he gazed down upon the sleeping boy he had come to think of his own. "It's important." He adds.

With a kiss to Carl's forehead, Rick stands from the chair and meets Shane at the doorway, tilting his head to the side as he takes in the wild look in his friends eye. "What's wrong?" He asks in a hushed voice, so not to wake the boy.

Shane runs a hand across his shaved head and down his face, "Have you been near the barn, man?"

Rick furrows his eyebrows, "What's this about, Shane? I need to be here when Carl wakes-"

The brown-eyed man exhales sharply, "There are walkers in the fuckin' barn, Rick. The crazy old man is keeping  _walkers_ in his barn. Y'think he's got'em to unleash on us when we do somethin' wrong? And  _that's_ the real reason he don't want us to have our guns, so we're defenceless?"

Rick shakes his head, his complexion pale, "Shane, stop it, that's  _ridiculous_. Hershel wouldn't do that, not with his daughters here. There has to be a better explanation, just let me find it." He looks back on Carl and frowns before turning back to his friend. "Don't do anythin' 'till I talk to Hershel, okay? Or else you'll put us all in danger." Without another word, Rick pushes past Shane and storms down the stairs.

Shane's face has gone blank, void of all emotion, but his eyes were bright and wild. "Sure, Rick," He says softly to himself, "I'll wait."

* *

Jane stops at the wooden fence closing off the farmland from the forest, sweat beading on her forehead and dripping down her temples to her neck and underneath her shirt. There was a gate about a yard from where she stood, but why open a gate when she was perfectly capable jumping over it? To keep Matt away from any infected that roam nearby, she grips the chain wrapped around his chest and hoists him up onto her shoulders, before leaping over the fence. She was aiming on setting him down in the shade of a nearby tree when she heard shouting.

Turning to her right and shielding her eyes from the sun, she can just make out a group of people - all of different ages, genders and race - standing before a barn that seemed to be chained shut. If Jane squints, she could see the shape of a tall man with a pick axe in hand, trying to break open the doors while the people behind him shouted in protest.

"Curious," Jane says to herself. "Stay." She commands her subject on her back, before taking off in a jog toward the group of angry people with him jostling against her. It was when she heard the first gunshot round go off that she began sprinting.

Jane had watched as the man broke open the barn doors, throwing the pick axe aside violently, with no regard of the people behind him and took out his gun. Jane had been confused as to why he had his weapon ready, that is, until the infected began to stagger toward him in a swarm.

"No!" She gasped and made herself run faster. 

The men and women behind him were shouting at him to stop, but Jane's eyes immediately fell to a white-haired man who had fallen to his knees, two young girls - one blonde, the other brunette - stood at his side. The man with the gun didn't seem to hear their pleas as he shot, or he simply did not care to listen to what they had to say.

"Stop! Stop it, please!" Jane Doe pleaded, her voice booming over that of the gunfire. "I have a cure for the infected, please, stop!"

To her surprise, all shouting and bullets ceased fire at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, and all eyes turned to her. Jane skidded to a halt before the man with the gun and held her arms out as if to protect the remaining infected slowly exiting the barn. "I have a cure." She repeats herself, breathless as she slides her subject to the ground.

A man with curly brown hair and light blue eyes stepped forward, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked between her and Matt, "There is no cure. The remaining doctor at the CDC told me so himself." At this, Jane's eyebrows twitched, but she pushed the news to the back of her mind to bring up again later.

"He told you that simply because he did not have the skills that I have been gifted with to create said cure." Jane watched in mild amusement as the blue-eyed man's eyes widened comically. "The U.S. government created me for situations such as this one. To take out their enemies and most of all, to make cures for any and all outbreaks. I made a possible cure and injected it into this man here. All we have to do is wait a little longer to see if it works." She pauses to take in the people before her.

"And if it doesn't, I'll simply make another. Whether you all believe me or not does not matter. This is my life's purpose, and I believe that with some time, I can cure everyone in that barn." Her eyes fall to the elder man and two young girls as those last seven words fall from her lips.

As the silence stretches on, the groans and moans of the infected acting as background noise, Jane Doe meets every single person's eye individually, the spell only broken by the scoff the man with the gun let out, before he fires off another shot.

Jaw clenching and nostrils flaring in annoyance as she blindly reaches forward. He fires the gun one last time before Jane's hand grips the barrel. With a grunt, she bends the nose of the weapon upward before bringing her other hand up to grip him by the wrist, yanking him forward so he's hunched over. Releasing the warped barrel, she raises her arm high above her head, and brings her elbow down on his shoulder, dislocating his arm and sending him to the ground with a pained yelp. 

"I could have sworn I told you to stop." Jane sighs as she watches him squirm in pain.

With a roll of her shoulders, she turns back to the man with blue eyes, "Please just give me a chance. Let me prove myself."

And as the infected continue to stagger toward them, tripping and falling over their fallen brethren, Jane could see the gears turning inside his head.  _He's considering it,_ Jane thought happily.

A few moments pass before he opens his mouth to give her his answer, but the voice that comes does not belong to him. In fact, it belonged to a female.

A woman with short grey hair has her eyes locked on the infected behind Jane Doe, and gasps out a single name,

" _Sophia!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so sorry it's been so long since I've updated this D: and I'm pretty sure I promised Glenn for this chapter so that makes me feel even worse, but he will show up, I promise. Next chapter most likely xD thank you for being so patient.


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